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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 124 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  2. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  3. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  4. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  5. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  6. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  7. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  8. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  9. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  10. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  11. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  12. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  13. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  14. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  15. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  16. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  17. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  18. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  19. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  20. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  21. False peace will not ________________.
  22. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  23. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  24. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. root — of a word
  2. file — a line of people
  3. last — final
  4. pitch — completely
  5. shower — rain
  6. shower — a meteor shower
  7. pitch — a sales talk
  8. bore — to drill
  9. net — for catching
  10. pitch — a sports field
  11. file — a document
  12. net — in sport
  13. bore — gave birth
  14. face — part of the head
  15. face — to point toward
  16. shower — to wash
  17. last — finally
  18. bore — to tire
  19. net — after costs
  20. face — to confront
  21. last — to go on
  22. root — the cause
  23. file — a tool
  24. root — of a plant

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com